Debate: The Two-Party System is Making America Ungovernable

February 15, 2011
The Republican and Democratic parties are entrenched in calcified partisanship, where politics is played as a zero-sum game. The rise of the Tea Party, liberal backlash, and the exodus of moderate voices from Congress all point toward the public's growing discontent. Has our two-party system failed us? Is this a call to change our two-party system of governance?

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News & Politics

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• David Brooks
• Zev Chafets
• P.J. O'Rourke
• Arianna Huffington
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• liberal
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• election
• partisan
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• IQ2US
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[Phillyguy12345]

BULL CRAP...The Democrats and Republicans are controlled by CORPORATIONS!!!!!! We need Greens, Socialist, Communist, Libertarians, and Independents.

[Phillyguy12345]

Ralph Nader should have been on the panel........ Not these people.

[pantheon777]

It's kind of a difficult to defend (but extreme sounding) proposition to begin with. But really we don't have a two party system, just the appearence of one to make us think we have a choice.

[cobybcdude]

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH

[brucepig]

Definitely dishonesty posing as "Fair & Balanced"

[rikmikel]

IQ2-worst panel, worst debate I have watched to date...this whole debate should get a do over with a new panel. I feel less intelligent for having watched it.

[brucepig]

@Mutex50 The idea that Obama's White House is an extreme left wing fringe akin to the Tea Party is like saying the UK is a Stalinist dictatorship because we have a public health care. This whole debate is superfluous because it's based on the erroneous idea that Dems and Reps are both as bad as each other. Attempting to be "fair and balanced" in the face of a weak Obama administration prepared to bend over backwards to a bunch of Republicans that make Bush look like a moderate is rank dishonesty

[Mutex50]

@brucepig Yeah, that annoyed me how it seemed to be conventional wisdom in the debate that both parties are controlled by the fringe and neither is willing to compromise. How can anyone objectively say that is the case. The Republicans are controlled by the extreme fringe and the Democrats make endless compromises.

[brucepig]

Left and the right, Rep and Dem, MSNBC and Fox are not equivalent. You can't equate the two. The Republicans, Fox and the Tea Party can scream blue murder, lie and obstruct government in the most dangerous ways from the START treaty to the debt ceiling and the Dems buckle. If progressives make a stand Obama is the first to tell them to shut up. MSNBC does not lie like Fox and the only real progressive in power is Bernie Sanders who I believe is independent. Obama is a centre right politician

[brucepig]

Democrats are prepared to compromise Republicans are not. Obama is prepared to do almost anything the Republicans want from dropping the public option to extending the Bush tax cuts and cutting social security in the name of bipartisanship. The Republicans will not compromise on anything. Republicans have staked their position so far out to the right that the centre is still on the right. The American left don't get a look in